Former LA School Teacher Charged with 23 Counts of Sexual Abuse

A teacher employed at an elementary school in South Los Angeles for more than 30 years has been detained by police and charged with lewd and lascivious acts on at least 23 different children.

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What’s the problem?

Berndt was arrested by the LA County Sheriff’s Department on January 30th after a yearlong investigation. The department was tipped off to the suspect when a photo mat turned over pictures of his alleged acts to authorities.

Berndt’s victims include a total of 23 boys and girls between the ages of seven and 10 whom he had contact with between 2008 and 2010.

Among the evidence recovered in the investigation were numerous pictures from the photo mat and Berndt’s home showing children bound and blindfolded in a school setting, some with giant Madagascar cockroaches crawling on them.

A number of female students were photographed with a blue spoon holding a white substance next to their mouths. Detectives recovered a similar looking spoon from a waste container in the suspect’s classroom which subsequently tested positive for the presence of semen.

To date, 10 children from the photos remain unidentified. A total of more than 80 children and staff have been interviewed regarding the matter. Miramonte Elementary is located in the unincorporated Florence Firestone section of South Los Angeles.

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